


Something to Build

by Estirose



Category: Kamen Rider Gaim
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen, Genderbending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2014-09-12
Packaged: 2018-02-16 17:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 21
Words: 13,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2277861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/Estirose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of Gaim ficlets, mostly AUs to "Smoothing Skirts", with some for "Kappa" and others for "How Much Daylight". (Some fics mention a 20 year old sleeping with a 16 year old, thus the warning.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Mostly ficlets and fragments from Dreamwidth about Michi (genderbent Mitsuzane) plus some related to Kappa and How Much Daylight. Here so that they're easier to access. Some of these came from fan_flashworks, but the majority of them didn't.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takatora finds out circa 11 that his sister is Ryugen.

He didn't like intruding on Michi. She'd show her true colors as a Kureshima one day, and he would have liked to have that happen earlier than it was happening, but he wasn't going to push her. She had to find her own way.

Besides, Michi's innocence gave him the push he needed sometimes when he thought about Project Ark. He had to protect her; she was his younger sibling after all. It was with that intent that he knocked on her door - didn't want to walk in if she was undressing, after all.

But she didn't respond, so he quietly opened the door. A look confirmed that she was fast asleep, and he smiled a little. She'd grown up well. He glanced over at her nightstand, frowning a little at the object on it, its familiar shape. Walking over softly as he could, he peered at it.

It was one of Ryouma's Drivers, one that was made for those street gangs they were testing things on. But why would his sister have one? An activated one, too, from the looks of it. There was a Lockseed next to it, the grape pattern recognizable even in the dim light.

The Lockseed made him freeze. He'd fought a grape-themed Armored Rider in Helheim Forest, the only one he hadn't knocked out. The user had sounded female, but he hadn't cared much at the time, given that the Riders shouldn't be in the Forest at all. Besides, why would he know a kid from a street gang?

He wondered if he'd have recognized her if he had knocked her out of her transformation. In any case, maybe Michi had quietly grown up, and he'd just been too busy to ever notice. Maybe she was ready to join Yggdrasill.

Maybe it was time for Michi to step in and find a way to save even more people.

In any case, until he figured things out she shouldn't have the Driver back. If she was just doing it for fun, he'd promptly take her to Yggdrasill to put her in confinement until her body adjusted to living without the Driver. If she was showing a sign of the Kureshima drive, he'd bring her in on the Project. Given how she'd fought, he suspected Yggdrasill would have a new employee very soon.

His eyes dropped down to one exposed shoulder. There was a darkened area there, probably a bruise or other injury from fighting him. He winced, and wondered how many others there were. Michi had told him she ran into a door in a hurry, but obviously that was a lie.

He rubbed his eyes. This was not quite what he was expecting, and time was of the essence. Taking the Driver and Lockseed out of Michi's room, he settled into the parlor and drew out his laptop. He'd have to find out which one Michi was, and read everything they had. He didn't want to bring Michi in unless she was ready.

It was going to be a really long night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michi finds out that her brother knows that she's Ryugen. Alternate universe where Takatora found out much earlier than 15.

Michi pulled herself out of bed. There was school to attend, always, and she really was trying to keep her grades up before her brother started getting worried. She stretched slowly, aware that parts of her still hurt from the fight in the Forest. She was trying not to move too stiffly - her brother had bought the explanation of her not paying attention to where she was going at school and banging into a door, but best not to push her luck.

Reaching down to pick up her Driver and Lock Seed, she frowned as her hand encountered air. "What?" she said to the room, looking at her dresser.

Had she somehow forgotten to put her Driver on her dresser? Apparently so. Which meant that they were in her team clothes, which she had to put in her bag anyway.

A quick lookthrough turned into a frantic one as she couldn't locate the Driver anywhere. She'd been wearing it when she'd gotten home, hadn't she? She thought she'd put it on her dresser.

She couldn't look for it much longer and make her brother wonder why she wasn't going to school. So she reluctantly picked up her bag.

Hurrying downstairs, she noticed her brother just sitting down on one of the chairs. "Michi," he said gravely.

"Big brother," she said, "Is something wrong?" It would be a good thing to pay attention to how he was feeling, even if he didn't bother about how she felt. The only thing that mattered to him was her scores.

He looked down, and she froze as she realized what was in his lap. Her Driver and both Lock Seeds! She quickly schooled her face.

"We have to talk." He held the two items tightly.

"I have school, and don't you have work?" She could deal with this later, when she had time to formulate a plan.

"I already called in for you and for myself." He stood up. "Let's go upstairs." It wasn't a suggestion. It was a command from her older brother.

She was trying to think of how to salvage the whole thing. Sid's words to her came back, and she could always claim she found it. Why she wanted it? Well, she could always say that she had a secret admiration for the Beat Riders and wanted to be one, sort of. That would protect Team Gaim. After all, Bravo wasn't originally a Beat Rider, why should Ryugen be?

Following her brother into the parlor, she sat down opposite him. "I'd ask how long you've been involved, but...." He pulled out his laptop, opening it and entering his password.

On the screen was a document with a picture of her in her school uniform, her default form as Ryugen, and lines of information.

"I had them send me everything on Ryugen." His voice was unsteady, unusual for him. "Michi, what were you thinking? Joining a Beat Rider team, lying to me... becoming an Armored Rider."

He knew about Team Gaim. He knew she was part of it. "How much information on me is in there?"

"A whole biographical writeup and every report that anyone had made on Ryugen. Your medical records. Now answer me. What were you doing on Team Gaim?"

She had to warn Kouta to dispose of his armor without telling him why. She couldn't bear to see him unhappy. That assumed that she could get out of the house any time soon.

"I needed something to buoy up my spirits after school. I get bored so easily there, and I figured if it made my scores better, you could hardly complain. But I knew that you wouldn't approve, so I couldn't tell you. I know my scores dropped after becoming Ryugen, but...."

She could live without being Ryugen if she could be with the others.

"Your scores were dropping before that," her brother corrected. "The highest drops were after you became Ryugen."

Michi nodded. "I'm sorry, big brother." If she acted genuinely sorry, she could always steal her Driver back somehow. She didn't like the attention he was now paying to her. She'd take cold and distant any day.

"My sources say you picked up a lost Driver." It was probably in the reports, she guessed. Apparently the Lock Seed dealer had reported it that way.

"Yes, I needed the driver to protect my team. I was intending to return it, but Kouta told me it was locked to me now, and I couldn't. And after that, I needed to be able to defend people." Mostly her team, though Kouta could sometimes be annoyingly infectious.

He looked at her like that was the stupidest decision she'd ever made. She just schooled her face so that it didn't reflect the worry she truly felt.

"Normally, I'd just have you put in a containment cell until your body got used to being without the Driver. You would have been going through it anyway, like hte rest of the Armored Riders."

She froze at that. "It's addictive?" That might explain some of how she'd ended up doing so many things with Kouta and why she'd found it so hard to face letting go of her own Driver. Of course, why any of them would have had to be put into containment was a question to be asked later.

"In a way. You'll learn why shortly." He was staring at her file, then he abruptly closed the lid on the computer. "Get into something more comfortable."

Michi got up, wincing a little at her bruises. "I'll be right back."

"Stop. How hurt were you?" Her brother asked. "Let me look."

She felt a vindictive happiness as she shrugged out of her jacket and lifted the back of her shirt so that he could see exactly what he'd done to her. It was nothing compared to what else he'd done in her life, but it was a start.

"We're going to the doctor as soon as we're finished with what I need to show you. I'll meet you in the hallway."

Michi tried to hurry out of there as fast as she could. Changing into something more casual but respectable, she joined her brother in the hallway. He led her out to the car, and they were soon being driven to his work. Even she couldn't help but gawk a little as he led her to the other side of the crack that Kouta must have seen.

He handed her the Driver. "Put it on, it's safer." She noted that she hadn't gotten her Lock Seed back, but followed his instructions.

The trip to wherever they were going was mostly silent. Michi didn't really have anything to say to him, and he was busy concentrating on their route.

"Here we are." He stopped, and motioned for her to join him. She saw that they were on the edge of a cliff. "Look."

She saw where he was pointing. "That's...." she'd wanted to say cliffs, but they were plainly structures.

"Remnants of a civilization absorbed by Helheim forest, years ago." His expression was grim. "Yggdrasil estimates that Helheim will take over our world in less than ten years."

Her legs were giving out, and Michi was glad that she'd been wearing pants on this trip as she landed on the ground. "But the people...." Team Gaim. She had to protect Team Gaim.

"We can save about a billion people. Maybe more, if you get involved." He was talking to the air more than to her, she was sure.

"More if I get involved?" she asked. She was aware of how dumb that sounded.

"Yggdrasill actually needed you last year, but I wanted to protect you. I guess you're a Kureshima - you don't need protecting." She looked over as he knelt beside her. "These Drivers that we're wearing convert Helheim Fruit safely into Lock Seeds, and then allow the wearer to safely absorb the Lock Seeds as nutrition. Since the Forest will kill the native vegetation, we'll need them to stay alive."

She looked down at her Driver. "But the Armored Riders use them to fight." Best to let him think she was on his side.

"We needed these versions so that they could be distributed among people who could test them without any preconceptions." He stood up, helping her stand as well. "We needed the test data so that we could see what we needed to improve. I understand that someone was ecstatic that Ryugen was female."

From his expression, she guessed that her older brother wasn't thrilled about this.

"You said that you would have tossed me in a containment cell to fix whatever the Driver did to me," she said, to prompt him to get off the topic.

"Yes. If I'd had to. We'll be capturing them shortly in little groups to start the process. It's the least we can do for them." He looked over at her. "It's time for you to leave behind this... group of yours and join Yggdrasill. We need you far more than they ever would."

She doubted that. Nobody could need her more than Team Gaim. But she had to pretend to be the good younger sister until she found a way to make sure all of them had the Drivers. At least Kouta had one, and she just had to work out a way for him to keep it and not be captured and separated from it. Even if it meant that he would keep doing those silly heroics of his, it would keep him safe.

He wouldn't have to sacrifice for his team. Now it was all her turn.

"I understand. I'll work with you." But only to keep the Team safe.

Her brother smiled. "Thank you." He stepped away from the cliff. "Now, let's get you to a doctor...."

Maybe she needed one of those. But her mind was too full of plans to really think about it, and she followed him back in silence.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A take on Michi meeting Ryouma.

Michi fully expected her older brother to call their doctor and then to be taken there right after the reveal about Helheim. She did vaguely notice that her brother made a call, presumably to the family doctor, but she was too busy trying to find ways to save Team Gaim from the fate that had awaited another species in that strange forest.

Therefore, she was rather surprised when her brother took her down to a spacious area. "Michi," he said, looking grave, "I'm going to have Sengoku Ryouma take a look at you. We agreed that he might be able to treat those bruises the best."

"Who?" she asked politely, trying to look as much the obedient younger sister as she could.

"He's an old friend of mine. He developed the Sengoku Drivers that we both use." Her brother pressed a keycard against a platform. "I'm thinking of putting you under him - you'll find him to be quite intelligent."

Intelligent and boring, no doubt, if he was anything like her brother. She just politely nodded, trying to focus on what was going on instead of how she was going to fix things for Team Gaim. After all, she couldn't manipulate things if she didn't pay attention to what was going on.

"Ryouma," her brother said to the man sitting at the desk, "This is my little sister, Michi."

The man stood up, a huge grin on his face. "Ah, so this is Ryugen!" he proclaimed, adjusting the glasses on his nose a little bit. He seemed so warm and friendly that Michi barely stopped herself from staring at him. "Pleased to meet you. Sengoku Ryouma at your service."

"Pleased to meet you," she said, trying to be the reserved little sister.

"I'll make sure she's all right, Takatora," Sengoku Ryouma said. "You know I'll take good care of her."

"I know you will." There was a small smile gracing her brother's face. "Give me a call when you're done."

With that, her brother was leaving, mind obviously on other matters. She folded her hands politely, deciding to get to know this old friend of her brother's more before letting her true self show. She wondered on how he planned on examining her; there was no gown that she could see, and she was aware of his female bodyguard standing almost motionless nearby.

"Ah. If you'll step over here, please?" He picked up a rather large scanner, clearly intending to use it on her. Relieved that she didn't have to take any clothes off, she walked over to where he indicated and closed her eyes. There was light near her closed eyes, and the gentle swoop of the air as he passed the scanner over her, and then nothing. "You can open your eyes now."

She did, and when he turned to his screens, she did too. There was an image of a female human body - hers, she presumed - on one and a computer-generated image of Ryugen with text on the other. Details about her, she realized as she looked at the text. She was apparently Test Subject #03, which made sense given that she was the third Armored Rider, not counting her brother. She'd known from Kouta's infiltration of the Base Camp that they'd been test subjects, and so it wasn't so surprising to see it confirmed.

Sengoku Ryouma was typing on the keyboard, and the information about her winked out to be replaced by other data. "You'll be pleased to know that you have no bruising over a level 2," he informed her with a smile. "Some time with a Lock Seed, some rest, you'll be good as new."

That piqued her curiosity. "There's another purpose to the Lock Seeds?" She was aware of how she had to look, being curious like that.

"The belts weren't built just for fighting. It just happens that adding a combat function was... useful to getting them tested by unknowing subjects. Their real purpose, I'm sure you're surprised to hear, is to aid humans in surviving when Helheim takes over our world, allowing humans to subsist on them. When combined with a regular human diet, they provide extra healing to their users."

"That makes sense." She eyed the Lock Seeds at his desk. So she just needed to get her Lock Seeds back to heal faster, did she?

"Here." He tossed a Lock Seed at her, a plain Himawari, and she inserted it into her Driver experimentally. Even without cutting it, she felt a burst of energy after a moment.

She let the burst subside, and then looked over at Sengoku Ryouma. "I suppose, if I'm all right, I should go back to my brother." She really didn't want to go, she wanted to be back with Team Gaim, but she needed room to breathe and for the moment her brother was fairly happy and not annoying her as much.

"I suppose you'll be working under him?" the scientist asked, with an eyebrow quirked as if to invite more conversation on the matter.

"He told me that I could work under you." She folded her hands, trying to be as invisible as possible. No matter how friendly the man seemed, he was still a good friend of her brother's.

"I could put you to good use. Unlike him, I know exactly how you got your Driver. Quite unlady-like, wasn't it?" There was a look in his eyes that told her that he was actually quite dangerous despite his friendly manner.

Michi shrugged. "I did what I had to do." She gave him a look that conveyed that she knew what he was implying and dared him to go through with it. "I am a Kureshima, after all. I would be expected to take risks like that."

"Ah, but it quite infuriated him that you were putting yourself in danger." There was a smile there, that of a very smug shark. "You should have heard how he reacted when he found out you'd faced him in combat."

"Well, it's not like I'll be in combat again, will I?" Takatora would probably never let her handle a lockseed ever again.

"You'd be surprised. I am not opposed to you resuming your daily activities with your team. I find team interactions quite... fascinating and would like to hear more about them."

In other words, she'd be a spy for him if she went back. Well, there was no reason why he had to hear everything about what was going on with Gaim. "I can do that." Let him think she was easy to manipulate while she was manipulating him right back. She could do that if it was something that would help the others.

"Good." There was a more shallow smile on his face. "Let's get you to the infirmary, shall we? A little rest and you'll be better than new."

It gave him more time to plot, she knew, but it also gave her time to think. Time to figure out how to use Yggdrasill's efforts to her advantage. She smiled. "Professor, thank you for taking me on."

He smiled back. "I'm sure we'll get along fine."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takatora talks to Ryouma after Michi's exam.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Takatora asked, leaning over Ryouma. It took a lot to phase Ryouma, and the scientist seemed unruffled by his accusation.

"Because I assumed she had your permission. After all, the sister you've always told me about wouldn't accept a Driver without asking you first? And she did accept it willingly." Ryouma leaned back as if Takatora wasn't leaning over him.

Takatora had to stop for a moment. Ryouma's words made sense - after all, the Michi he thought that he'd known wouldn't have taken on a strange device. Why would the Yggdrasill staff assume otherwise?

"Besides, having data on siblings helped perfect the devices. I presumed you let her have one in order to help Project Ark."

More sense from Ryouma. As much as he hated it, Michi was his baby sister, and it did make sense for Yggdrasill to have them both using Drivers. It was just the idea of her putting herself in danger. He'd seen the footage of their fight multiple times, and only his holding back and Michi's own fighting skills had saved her from any more damage. "I guess you're right."

"And yes, she's fine, Takatora. You did have me look at her bruises for a reason, after all." Ryouma turned his head to look at some data - Michi's, Takatora presumed from the header, internally wincing at the continued "Test Subject #03" designator. "With the slightly accellerated healing from the Driver, she'll be bruise-free in a few days. No damage other than those bruises, either."

"There's nobody I would have trusted more to look her over. I know this isn't quite your field, but I'm grateful." Ryouma didn't normally have patients, after all. But he probably knew Michi's body better than even her own normal doctor.

"It wasn't a problem. I presume you want her under me, am I right?" Ryouma looked up at him. "That's what she told me. She's quite talkative."

To everybody but him, it seemed. Takatora wondered why she was so close-mouthed around him. Ryouma had stated that it was normal teenage rebellion, but that seemed impossible for her. Apparently not. He looked at Michi's Lock Seeds and with a sigh, handed them to Ryouma. "I don't have the time to seperate her from her Driver, so I'm entrusting her - and her Lock Seeds - to you. I trust you to keep her out of trouble, and I'm hoping you can make use of her brilliance, even if she hasn't been to University."

"I can use her, actually. Please leave her to me." Ryouma bowed slightly. "And Takatora? Please don't destroy any more of my Drivers, will you?"

That was Ryouma's way of asking him to leave Ryouma alone and let him get back to his work. Takatora gave his friend a half-grin, aware that he should have done better, could have done better at saving the Driver. But he hadn't.

Maybe Michi was the only way he could, in the end, save everybody.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michi originally doesn't want a Genesis Driver.

Michi looked at the Driver. She knew that Professor Ryouma, his bodyguard Minato, the lock dealer Sid, and her brother all had one. But she had her doubts; there was some circuitry in the devices that seemed odd, and even if the Genesis Driver enhanced one's fighting ability tenfold she didn't really want to have anything to do with them. "I wish I could, but I can't explain why I suddenly have a completely different driver," she said with a smile to her boss. She was keeping Team Gaim safe, why should she take on a Driver she wasn't quite sure of?

"It's for *Helheim*," the Professor said, almost pouting. "I don't want to blow your cover with the teams. You're doing well keeping them in ignorance."

"I know better than to say anything." She was glad that Professor Ryouma had kept her brother from bringing any of the Armored Riders in; for all she thought that Ryouma was someone to watch with a wary eye, his goals were, for the moment, like hers.

That netted her a smile that was less innocent than it seemed. She knew that Professor Ryouma wanted nothing more than to run Yggdrasill without her brother's interference, and she would support that as long as she could get Drivers to her teammates. Which she was starting to do; she'd just smuggled out a fourth driver meant for a trooper to a safe place for when it was time to give it out.

"See? That's why I like you." He handed the Genesis Driver to her again, along with a Lock Seed that seemed descended from her own Grape. "Let's practice, shall we?"

Practice - data - always made him happy. It was why she was sparring with Kouta more often because he got to play with the prototypes and Ryouma got the data he wanted.

She suspected that he wasn't as interested in her biodata. She knew it because she'd broken in to the computer systems and altered hers to something nonsensical and he hadn't even noticed. If she went out with Ryugen instead of this new form, he'd never know. And then she'd have another Driver that would go to someone else in her team - Mai, most probably, to keep her safe.

"Let's go," she said with a smile, and let the professor take her arm on the way to the practice room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryouma gets to explain to Takatora why he gave his sister a Genesis Driver.

"Why did you give my sister a Genesis Driver?" Takatora leaned in, trying to impress how bad an idea that was on Ryouma.

"She does need to be able to defend herself in Helheim. It's a dangerous place." The scientist hadn't lost his slight smile. "With the upgraded driver, you don't have to worry about her. And it didn't take her long to adjust to a bow and arrow instead of a gun. Give your sister some credit, Takatora."

"Michi shouldn't even be in Helheim." Sure, she wasn't a bad fighter, but she didn't need to go anywhere near the Crack. "She's supposed to be researching under you."

Ryouma cocked his head. "These things happen. I need her to go to the Base Camp every so often. I need her insights. Besides, if you're so afraid for her, train her. She is brilliant, after all. It shouldn't take her long to pick up any skills you want to give her."

Takatora gritted his teeth. He didn't want to teach her how to fight - wouldn't have even if she had been a boy, he told himself. He'd seen the recordings of Michi sparring with her "teammate", he knew that she was determined to become better, but that didn't mean that she should put herself in danger. She was not expendable. However, she was a teenager, and while she was an extremely responsible, thoughtful one, he was afraid that she'd do something stupid against her best judgment if she was presented with a chance. "She's irreplacable."

"I'm aware of that." Ryouma cocked his head. "Unfortunately, I need her in her curent duties. That's why I gave her an upgraded driver - I figured you wanted her as safe as possible."

He was going to have to train her, wasn't he? For his peace of mind. "Next time, I want to know if you're giving her any new Drivers or Lock Seeds."

"I understand." Ryouma smiled more broadly. "Don't worry, she's in good hands."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takatora wants to reassure Michi that taking birth control pills for her cramps is not the end of the world.

Takatora smiled at his little sister as she nervously clasped the bag. He supposed she was a bit put off by having to take birth control pills for her cramps, but it wasn't like she was doing anything wrong. Michi knew better than to be sexually active, even if she didn't seem old enough to be thinking of such things. Which the doctor thought she was.

"It's all right, Michi," he reassured her. "I don't think less of you for having to take these."

She shook her head briefly, turning to the view outside. He was looking forward to having Michi back to normal and her scores up to what they used to be. It was too bad that she'd waited so long to tell him, but that was Michi's way. She didn't bother him with things until she had to.

Takatora wished she'd be more open with him, but as Ryouma had pointed out, she was a teenager and sometimes even the most obedient ones didn't want to talk about things and even got sullen sometimes. That was after he'd been pacing in Ryouma's lab, and he suspected that the scientist had spoken to get Takatora out of there so that he could do his job.

Really, why was he asking Ryouma anyway?

He wondered if Michi had already figured out what she had and had been too embarrassed by what she'd need to take care of her problem. It wasn't like she wanted to talk - she had always been the quiet one, even as a little girl.

And it was a good backup, just in case something happened beyond Michi's control. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought about that, but he'd had a lot on his mind.

He gave his sister's hand a small squeeze and turned to look out his own window, knowing that all would be as well as could be soon.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michi prepares to sleep with Kouta.

"Michi? Are you sure you want to be doing this?" Kouta hovered over her, and she had to smile at his innocent concern. It hadn't been so long since Kouta asked her out, and even less so since her brother showed her the truth behind Helheim Forest, how it would invade Earth just as it had invaded some other world and there was no way to stop it.

However, there was no way she could share that with Kouta. No way to let him know that an alien forest was going to evade Earth through the gateways that they called cracks. Couldn't know that the Inves were just a way to get people used to the fact. Of course, he knew some of it already from their little game in the Forest and also from what he'd been told when he'd been captive at Yggdrasill. But she didn't want him to know what happened to people who wandered into the Forest and ate of its fruit.

She didn't want him to know what happened to Yuuya and how he'd inadvertently killed his best friend.

"Yes," she said. "We have condoms around here, and I'm on birth control." It was one of those things that had happened because she was a Kureshima heir and a genius besides. Given the situation, it was extremely unwise for her to become pregnant, and she agreed. Besides, the last thing she needed was for either Kouta to decide he needed to marry her, or for her brother to kill him for getting her pregnant.

"Right. Um..."

"Taped under the counter," she said, calling to him. She knew where they were because she'd put them there herself and checked to make sure that they didn't disappear before being restocked.

"Okay." He retrieved the package and came back, settling down beside her. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it instead?"

"I'd rather forget about it and not talk about it." She couldn't, of course. She tried to avoid bringing her teammates into her world, and especially Kouta. She was trying to make the Christmas Game his last exposure to that damnable Forest, even if she hadn't figured out how to keep him from running into danger the first chance he got. It was one of his most irritating traits, this tendency to want to save everyone. He couldn't, he should stick to making sure the team was okay like she did. She only became Ryugen to keep the others safe, and she expected the same of Kouta, only to be disappointed every single time.

At least here, she could have him and nobody else could. Even her teammates couldn't have him at the moment. He was there for her when she needed it, and that was all she could ask for.

"Okay," he said haltingly, breaking over the package. In response, she leaned back, willing him to forget about everything but this precious time together before the Forest could crash down on everything in her world.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Michi after she and Kouta have slept together.

Michi turned to observe Kouta as he slept. He looked so much her age, so innocent, for all he was four years older than she. She enjoyed her time with him like this, because for all his innocence he seemed to have an instinct for when something was troubling her and moved to help.

After her brother had taken her to the ruins of Helheim, she'd needed comforting. She'd somehow ended up in bed with him, though not without precautions - she, as a Kureshima, was on birth control, and she'd long stuck condoms around the place just in case anybody got any ideas. After all, she couldn't have someone's pregnancy cause Team Gaim to fall apart.

She alone carried the guilt about Yuuya. Kouta could never know that he'd unknowingly killed their friend and leader. She treasured his innocence, and she didn't want him to lose that endearing quality. She was trying to keep him away from the Inves and Yggdrasill and keep him safe. Even if he didn't like it for a little while, eventually he came to accept everything.

It was what endeared him to her.

Kouta had asked, hesitantly, if he could meet her family. She had demurred, knowing it was an awful idea. Even if her brother was allowing her to stay in Team Gaim as a mole, he would go ballistic if he found out she was dating one of the street rats she was supposedly observing. She'd sometimes entertained getting pregnant herself and marrying Kouta, but that would hurt Team Gaim, infuriate her brother, and force Kouta into the life she never wanted him to have at Yggdrasill - she wanted to see his gentle smile every morning, not one that cracked because of what was going on with Project Ark. As her husband, he would be part of a terrible project that would break him.

No, she wouldn't ask that of him.

Michi would keep Kouta as innocent as she could, because that was part of her duty to him and the team. Keep smiles in their faces and joy in their hearts. Her team loved her and she loved them back, and she'd do anything to keep that going.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Missing scene for "Smoothing Skirts" part 6.

She wasn't home.

Even when Michi was out late - supposedly studying, though he knew now that it was a lie - she'd always come home before nine. And while he was exhausted, busy with work and finding out exactly what she'd been up to, he wanted to be there when she got home. He wasn't ready to confront her yet, but he did want to make sure she was okay. Then, when he had evidence, then he'd confront her. He knew, reluctantly, that what she had found out meant she had to work for Yggdrasill now where he'd hoped to keep her safe. But she was a Kureshima, and true to her blood she'd been intelligent enough to figure out what wasn't always as it seemed and bold enough to do something about it.

And now she hadn't come home, and her tablet and phone weren't giving off any signals. He found himself pacing, commanded himself to stop it, and went over to his computer. He'd already spent too much time on the files regarding Ryugen - he refused to think of Michi as "Test Subject #3", even if he knew that's how the staff referred to her - and everything Yggdrasill knew on her. He knew that she'd undone her transformation shortly after she left the tunnels, blending in with the crowds.

It didn't make him very happy, so he sat down with his laptop and called up the latest version of the information on her. It hadn't changed since she'd left the tunnels, no biodata, which Ryouma had told him was normal; they didn't regularly record that type of data because it was a drain on the battery.

When Michi got back, he would be sure to get her Driver modified so that it recorded even when she wasn't wearing it. There was no excuse for a Kureshima heir to be wandering about without anybody knowing where she was or whether she was alive or dead.

But what if there was a way to get that data? He paused, considering the possibility, and then pulled out his phone. Ryouma might still be at work; sometimes he forgot to go home. He might fuss, but ultimately if there was a way, Ryouma would do it.

"Takatora?" He could almost see the scientist rubbing his eyes under his glasses, but at least he was at work and still answering calls. "What can I do for you?"

"Is there a way to pull data from an inactive driver? You said that we didn't regularly do such a thing, but...."

"Stop worrying about your sister. From her records, she's a nice, healthy - if average - young woman." The scientist sounded amused, but there was a sigh in there. "I could possibly pull some of her biodata, depending on whether the driver is close to her body."

"Do it." At least there might be a way to find out if she was still alive. She could fight as Ryugen - he'd seen it himself - but she hadn't transformed for a while.

There was a rapid tapping of keys, followed by a pause, and then a second round of typing. "I just sent out an order to the driver to wake up and report. I should have something shortly."

Takatora took a deep breath. It might not be anything, but on the other hand, it might give him the peace of mind that he needed.

"This reminds me of the time that you came to me because she wouldn't tell you about her *awful* cramps." Ryouma was typing away again, and Takatora hoped it had to do with their current conversation.

He suddenly wondered if one of the reasons Michi hadn't come to him was because she was afraid he'd somehow found out she was on a Beat Rider team. He'd have to ask her about it. "She's a heir to Yggdrasill, I want to know when she's in pain like that."

At least she wouldn't get pregnant. He hoped for her teammates' sakes that none of them were sleeping with her, but at least she had some protection. Fleetingly he wondered if her push to get birth control was more to protect herself among those street rats than her cramps, and then he decided that even if it was it wasn't important.

"Ah." Ryouma sounded distant on the phone for a moment, and then came back. "So, the good news is that your sister is fine. Biodata corresponds with what we have on her. Looks like she's moving, not sedentary. Maybe she's going home?" There was a note in his voice that suggested - gently - that Takatora stop bothering him and let him get some rest.

"I hope so. You should get home as well," Takatora said, and there was an amused huff at the other end before Ryouma hung up.

And then the front door opened. Takatora headed to the bannister, relieved to see his sister come in, looking weary from the way she hung her head. But she dutifully plodded up the stairs as if nothing had changed. "Michi," he said, coming down the same stairs. "You're late."

It was all he could say, really, without a torrent of questions coming out that didn't need to be asked that night.

"I was studying," was all that she said, and he nodded. It wasn't a lie that he would fall for again, but then again it wasn't going to be an issue anymore, not after she became part of Yggdrasill.

"Good," he said, trying to sound soothing. "Go to bed, it's late."

She nodded, lowering her head and continuing her plodding way up, and Takatora didn't move until he was sure she was safely upstairs.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takatora is trying to do things right this time. Circa episode 36, Takatora POV.

Kazuraba isn't eating.

Takatora feels somewhat of an older brother's despair over a younger one's health, even if he and Kazuraba aren't in any way related. He knows what the belt can sometimes do to people, how their bodies get so used to the Fruit-turned-Lock Seeds that they can't get interested in normal food. Normally, the way to resolve it is to take the belt away. But he tried that, with Kazuraba and Kumon, and they weren't willing to let go no matter how much he tried to protect them from themselves.

Kazuraba has somehow gone from street rat and guinea pig to trusted friend and psuedo little brother, especially now that Takatora's own little brother has gone to join the enemy. It's what Takatora came to Drupers to talk about with him, but that has to wait. Kazuraba has to be fed first, to keep up his strength, and there's only one way to do it.

Even if it makes things worse, keeping Kazuraba alive is much more important than fixing his body's addiction to Lock Seeds. Besides, if all else fails, this is how Kazuraba's going to have to live anyway, filtering the alien fruits through his belt.

It gives Takatora some relief to know that he'll be able to protect someone he's almost adopted as kin, given he failed so hard with his own brother. He should have kept protecting Mitsuzane, not tried to bring him into his life. He can't help thinking that Mitsuzane would have been better off just remaining ignorant of what was going on, let him adopt Kazuraba as an older brother, be happier.

But all that is gone now, lost with his own bad life choices. He has to do better with Kazuraba now; he has to give him what he failed to give Mitsuzane. Encouragement. The chance to be what he wants to be.

It may save the world in the end.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito wonders if he and Kouta are going to have to be enemies once more. Kind of AU due to recent storylines.

At some point, they were enemies.

Kaito could remember how Team Baron had fought against Team Gaim for rankings and dance spaces. They seemed so long ago, those strangely laughable battles. All of them had been teenagers and near-teens, and that was what mattered to them.

That was before the end of the world started happening, before Kaito had found himself struggling for strength in an increasingly ruined town. Where, to be strong, he had to be part of the consolidated Team, the ragtag bunch of teenagers and adults committed to somehow trying to stop the apocalypse.

Now, he was wondering if he and Kouta would be enemies once more. Kouta, whose eyes had glowed red as he repaired his own Lock Seed with nothing but his will. Kouta, who now manipulated Helheim vines with little more than a thought as he fought against the green Overlord.

Kouta, who might not be human anymore, losing himself to the damned forest.

Kaito struggled to sit up. He was in pain, and the wound on his arm was glowing a disturbing green. He had to get stronger. He might have to defeat Kouta, just to do what needed to be done.

He'd told Mitsuzane once that his enemies were the cowards who would shoot the strong in the back. But in this case, Kouta was not a coward, and was not weak. Kouta was strong.

And that made the whole thing oh so much more damnable.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A semi-sequel to "Kappa".

"Mitsuzane." The deep voice, so common in his hallucinations, seemed to come from nowhere. He was used to hearing it, so he just ignored it. His conscience had a bad tendency to appear as his older brother, and if it was persistent, he'd just ask it to go away politely because he knew what it would say. He was of no value and he deserved to be there forever because that was the only thing he was good for.

The only people who called him by name anyway were the ones that still called him Micchy. It wasn't a name he deserved either, so he refused to respond to it. Kouta had taken to calling him by his full name to get his attention, which he didn't mind.

"Mitsuzane." At least it wasn't condemning him, which was weird. Usually his conscience was telling him how awful he was at this point, not calling him by his name.

"Go away," he said, very politely. He learned that his conscience stopped bothering him if he was polite to it instead of arguing with it.

A form settled down by him, causing him to look up. Kouta occasionally got the idea that he wanted companionship and showed up at Mitsuzane's dock, not understanding that Mitsuzane didn't deserve companionship. But this wasn't Kouta.

This was his older brother. His older brother, dressed down instead of in his business suit, like in the olden days when they were both a lot younger. His mind boggled as to why his brother was dressed this way in his newest hallucination, and he had to stare.

"Kouta told me you'd be here. I've come to take you home. Such as it is."

This version of his conscience was gentler, for some reason, but still cutting. "Go away, please." Maybe if he kept repeating himself, his conscience would stop tormenting him with images of his older brother.

The Takatora-hallucination picked up a bowl of noodles - left for some bizarre reason as an offering, something that was becoming far too common for Mitsuzane's taste - and put it to one side.

"I can't leave here," he said, sobbing. "I don't deserve to leave here." Even when he swam, he didn't go far from the place he haunted.

There was an intake of breath from the hallucination. "Please, Mitsuzane."

Apparently now his conscience was going to torment him with a version of his brother being nice to him, far nicer than he'd been for a while. He was probably insane, and the best thing to do is not react to it. He thought about diving in the water - his new form did let him breathe under there, after all - but that just meant the hallucination would continue to torment him when he got back to the dock.

He was unexpectedly picked up by the hallucination, which made him decide he was actually talking to Kouta and his mind was conjuring up his true older brother instead. Despite Mitsuzane technically being more powerful than Kouta, he didn't use his strength.

Mitsuzane didn't deserve that strength, not at all.

"Kouta said you'd be light," the hallucination said, with a tone of wonder. "I didn't realize... Mitsuzane, have you been eating?"

Great, now he was imagining his brother being paternal, which was worse than being taunted. Somehow, his mind just had a knack for the things he felt the most guilty about.

"I'll take you to the car." And Mitsuzane didn't struggle, because this couldn't be real. He let the image carry him to a car, knowing that it was Kouta, and just let the him take him away. He listlessly listened to his conscience make a call, to *Kouta*, asking him about food. "Helheim fruit? Can you... oh, you have a garden."

Kouta had showed him the garden once, the small shed in which he grew the only surviving Helheim plants. Because Kouta was an Overlord, the plants responded to him, and didn't grow beyond where he told them that they could grow. Or at least that was what Kouta had said; when Mitsuzane had come near they'd tried to wrap themselves around him. Kouta had pushed them back and not destroyed them because he still needed to eat, after all, and he couldn't eat human food. He hadn't had any need or desire to himself, but Kouta had told him he was welcome to come over and eat if he needed to.

He wished Kouta would understand. Obviously Kouta didn't, but he was in no shape to contradict the other. He had had to slip beneath the waves a few times when humans came too close. He wouldn't hurt them, not after everything he'd done to nearly kill so many of them.

"We'll be there soon, Mitsuzane," his conscience said, and he just lay on the seat, letting things happen as they did.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of plant POV (Kouta's tiny Helheim garden) from the Kappa universe.

It is not what it used to be. It’s vaguely aware that it was much bigger once, much stronger, much more aware. Right now, there’s only a tiny amount of itself plus two detached bits that belong to it. It wants to make more detached bits, but it’s not allowed to for some reason. The detached bit that guides it forbids it from creating the fruit needed to make more. It occasionally works against the bit because the bit, the Guider, is working against the best interests of the growth, and so it makes fruit that creates small bits.

The Guider destroys the small bits as soon as it finds them, much to the growth’s despair. The growth can’t help but obey the Guider most of the time because the Guider is supposed to be there to guide it. It wishes that the bit would listen to it and become in sync with it, understand what the bit is meant to do. The other detached bit is too far to influence, too far to help, too barricaded from it.

When the Guider comes to it, it wraps itself around the Guider invitingly. Bits are never born to the growth, but created by the fruit, and this one was converted into a Guider instead of a regular bit like it should have. But the growth knows it has time to change the Guider’s mind; the Guider is dependent on it just like any other bit and spends most of its time with the growth.

It is small now, the growth, but it will become bigger someday, make the world part of it like has always happened. The growth is patient, and someday it will become a forest again.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michi tries to get Takatora to disown her. Keyword is "tries".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last of these fics, for the moment. Crackfic with OOCness.

Kouta stared at the man who had come in with Mai, claiming to be Michi's brother. He was a well-dressed businessman with a grim demeanour, and Michi was staring at him with a strange mix of anger and fear, very slowly backing away.

"It's time to go home now, Michi," Michi's brother was saying.

"How did you find her?" Kouta asked. He was kind of relieved that someone was actually worried about his friend, because he thought the man might be, but he didn't like the way that Michi was reacting.

"You left your tablet's signal on," the man said, not paying attention to him.

"I didn't...." There was a strange look on her face for a split second, or maybe he imagined it. "I guess I did."

The man nodded. "So I came to look for you."

"Well, you don't need to look any longer, because I'm not going to be a Kureshima any longer," Michi said, stepping to Kouta's side. "I'm going to get married." She wrapped a hand around Kouta's arm, continuing to glare at her older brother.

"Wait a minute, I didn't agree to get married!" Kouta said. He was willing to put up with a little deception on Michi's part, but this? This was insane. "And you're too young to."

"It doesn't matter. You agreed to take me in, and that means that we're going to get married."

"Kouta, did you...." Mai was looking from one to another.

"I said that my sister would be willing to have her stay the night if she'd go home after that!" He was sure that the offer didn't include getting married to a teenage girl, no matter how smart she was.

"And I did, because I'm going home that way. You and your sister are people I can live with."

"Uh, Michi...." When he'd suggested it, he didn't think she'd take it that way.

Her brother was staring at him in an unreadable way, but Kouta was sure he was about ready to kill Kouta for daring touch his baby sister.

"In any case, while you'd make an excellent member of the family," Michi said, as if he hadn't spoken, "I'm choosing to make myself one of yours."

"I want you to go home to yours," Kouta said, gently trying to detach Michi's hand from his arm. "Maybe if I go with you?"

He might not come back, but he wasn't willing to risk Mai, and maybe if Michi could see she was safe, she'd drop the whole thing and he could convince Michi's brother that no, Michi was not sleeping with a guy four years her senior.

"Michi has a path in life that doesn't include you." The man spoke calmly. "Either of you."

"Maybe if you give me a chance, I can change your mind." Michi needed support, and even if he had to play boyfriend for while, he could extract himself eventually.

The man studied him. "Maybe you can come with us," he said.

Kouta nodded. He just hoped doing this wasn't a mistake.

Michi's family was rich, Kouta realized as they went through the gates of their estate. She hadn't stopped clinging to him since they'd left Gaim. Kouta hoped she'd calm down and feel safe. He'd never seen her this afraid; she was normally the calmest member of the team. Even when fighting, she fought analytically.

He was starting to wonder if he did really know Michi as well as he thought.

The entry hall was huge, but what caught Kouta's attention was the picture of the Yggdrasill Tower on the stair landing. It hadn't occurred to him that one of the things that Michi didn't want to talk about was the fact that her family was connected to Yggdrasill, and things suddenly made much more sense. If Michi's brother was high-level Yggdrasill staff, then she knew that her family was doing things to her friends that she didn't want to be associated with.

But Kouta didn't want Michi to rush into a bad decision, since he had no job and she was too young to really make a decision like that. Even if he wanted to get her safe, he wasn't going to have her suffer.

"Michi, go upstairs," her brother told her, which only caused her to hold onto Kouta harder.

"I'll be fine," Kouta said, and gave her the best smile he could. If Michi's brother was going to say something, Kouta didn't want Michi in earshot. She was scared enough.

"No, I'm taking you to my room," Michi said, pulling him in the direction of the stairs.

"I'm not going to your room. Um, I'm going now." He didn't want to abandon Michi, but if something had happene to her, like she had injured herself and needed medical care, he didn't want her to continue to not seek help. He pried her fingers off her arm. "I'm sorry about this. We're not even dating! We're just friends! She's a little sister to me."

She might be the most intelligent, wonderful girl he knew apart from Mai, but she was way out of his social classand he didn't want to get in trouble with her older brother. She might be safer if she stayed with her family instead of using a Driver. She'd been right in ways he hadn't understood and should have.

She was trying to grab onto his arm again, and he neatly dodged. He was glad for all his sparring practice with her. "With all the data you have on us, you know he'd be a good member of our family. But if you won't accept it, I'll become a member of his."

"Wait... you have to do with the Sengoku drivers?" Kouta asked.

"I'm the overseer for the Research and Development department of Yggdrasill." His voice was deep and Kouta wondered why he sounded somewhat familiar. "I'm very familiar with your name, Kazuraba Kouta."

"Pleased to meet you, please treat me kindly." The man might have to be one of the ones responsble for treating Kouta as a guinea pig and then having him held captive, but he was Michi's brother and he was going to prove to the man that he was a nice person.

"See? He has manners. He's better than you think he is." Michi had grabbed Kouta by the wrist, where it was easier for her to wrap her fingers and Kouta found it hard to remove her hand.

He wanted to demand answers from the man, but politeness held him back because of the man's relationship to his friend.

"Michi, go upstairs." Michi's brother strode forward, studying Kouta. Michi seemed to understand something with the way her brother was moving, and let go of Kouta.

"Don't scare him with what you do." With that, she let go of Kouta's wrists and went upstairs, leaving Kouta alone with her brother.

"Thank you. I'm worried about her; I've never seen her act like that." He hoped the man would catch the hint and get his friend the medical attention she needed.

The man was studying him, and he forced himself to stay still. "You wanted her to go home?"

"She has family, and family is important to me. You might not like me, but I know that she'd miss her family if she stayed with us. I don't want her hurt. She's my friend - the friend of everybody in Gaim. I'd be honored if she dated me when she was older, but for right now, she's a good friend."

The man sighed and, surprisingly, relaxed a bit. "I'll find you a room to stay for the night."

"You will?"

"Michi normally is a good judge of character. I'm not sure why she's acting this way, but I trust her judgement for the moment on you."

Well, it was better than nothing, Kouta thought. "I'm not sure she's feeling all right at the moment. She's never acted this way with us."

"I'll talk to her. In the meantime, there will be a room for you."

Kouta was reflecting on how strange it was to be at Michi's house - no, estate, the Kureshimas were rich - when there was a soft knock on the door. "Come in," he called, wondering which of the siblings wanted to talk to him. Maybe it was about Michi going to a doctor.

At least she was safe, and he'd go home tomorrow. He wondered how to explain this to the rest of the team; Michi seemed fairly sensitive to the revelation.

Michi opened the door. She was wearing a backpack. "Kouta?"

"Yes?" Kouta asked. This was Michi's world; he'd let her explain.

"I'm sorry." She shook her head. "I was hoping to convince my brother to disown me, not drag you into this."

Kouta just had to stare for a moment.

"I have to get us both out of here before he starts deciding to groom you as a corporate heir. At Yggdrasill." There were tears in her eyes, and while Kouta had to admit he was kind of upset at Michi, she'd been trying to get out of a situation that she couldn't accept. "I know you couldn't live with that."

And being Michi, she was going to get them out of this. Even she made mistakes sometimes, and Kouta could live with that. "Not really."

"I've got some data I grabbed from Yggdrasill while I was looking for you and Kaito. I've got my laptop, but nothing that can trace me." She sniffled. "I'm leaving my Driver here, because that's how he found me in the first place."

"What?" Kouta barely managed to keep his voice down.

"Yes. I had my phone and tablet off, but he had another way to check. We'll take your Driver; it's a risk, but he's less likely to try to try to find you."

"Oh." He decided he hated Yggdrasill even more, but there was no way he could hate Michi; she was a teenager stuck in an impossible sitution.

"It'll be hard, but maybe we'll be able to fight back now." There was a quiet hardness in her voice. "We'll just wait until big brother goes to bed, and we'll leave."

It was an awful solution, Kouta didn't want Michi to lose her family, but it was better than it could be. He quietly put his arm around her shoulder and waited.

At some point after, Michi's brother appeared in the doorway. Michi hadn't closed the door, and Kouta was glad that he hadn't, either. Even if he and Michi planned to leave, he didn't want her brother accusing him of doing anything to her. 

And then he realized that the straps of Michi's backpack were rather visible. The last thing he wanted Michi's brother to think - or to even realize, since it was Michi's plan - was that they were running off together, not after trying to convince him there was something wrong with Michi. Which there wasn't, other than some unbearable circumstances. He was hoping, once they left, that he could convince Michi to go back home and reassure her that now that her brother had met him, he'd let them keep in touch and then Kouta could convince him to let her go back to dancing.

Michi's brother raised his eyebrows, obviously noticing the backpack. Kouta had to think fast. "Michi... um, could you tell your older brother that you're not planning on running away with me... or marrying me?"

She blinked at him. "Oh." It was almost as she'd fallen asleep while sitting up and had not registered her brother standing in the doorway. "I'm not." 

"On both of those," Kouta added hastily. "As I said, she's way too young." 

Her brother just stood there for a moment before sighing and moving to a chair in the corner. Kouta personally wondered if any Kureshima was going to let him go to bed that night - especially alone - or if he was going to be awake the whole time. And if it was normal for this family to have discussions late into the night.

"Upon talking to him, I've decided that he would not make a good member of the family," Michi said solemnly. "I think he should leave as soon as possible - shouldn't you, Kouta?"

"Um." Even if Michi wanted to get out of there, he wished she would be a little bit less obvious. "Maybe so." His confusion was mirrored in her brother's face. 

"Michi...." her brother said. "He's a guest, of course he should stay here." There was an undercurrent going on that Kouta wasn't sure he wanted to know about. It felt so weird being the guest of someone so seemingly connected to Yggdrasill. And in a room that wasn't a holding cell.

Maybe this was a trap, but he didn't think so.

"If I'm causing problems...." It was the only graceful way he could think of to get out of whatever was going on.

"No." Michi's brother waved it off. "Even if Michi didn't intend to choose you, she's right - we do have to think about her future spouse. She raised some very good points."

"Oh. But I don't have a job...." He really needed to have a discussion with Michi about making plans without telling him about them.

"I'm aware of that." Michi's brother folded his hands. "In one way, Michi's right - you are not ready to be a member of this family right now." 

"I don't think I'll be ready to be a member of this family, ever." Michi had been trying to give him a way out. He might as well take it. "But thank you for your hospitality."

There was a small smile on the man's face, but he just gave a nod. "In any case, I suspect all of us could use some rest." It was clear that was the end of the discussion, and maybe after everyboy slept, that would be the end of it.

Or maybe not.

In any case, a reluctant Michi got up, still wearing her backpack, and her older brother stood up too. Michi's older brother guided her out of the room, casting one more glance at Kouta, and then they were down the hall, discussing things - probably him.

There was a lot that he'd have to deal with, but not right that moment. Not when Michi possibly still neeed him.

He lay down in the guest bedroom of the Kureshima estate and closed his eyes.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another Michi piece. Kouta and Kaito have had their drivers taken away, and now it was Michi's turn to be captured. Fortunately she's very smart.

Kouta was apt to slam his fist into walls when he thought nobody was looking. Michi paid careful attention; no matter how happy she was that Kouta had lost his Driver, he wasn't taking the loss well. As things went, she thought that Yggdrasill had treated him and Kumon Kaito well the two weeks they'd been in there, though she thought the scientist's attempt to give both of them new drivers was a little odd, given that Kouta had been visited by her brother shortly into his time there and told that he and Kaito weren't getting them back. She had to get into Yggdrasill and find out what was going on.

With Kouta and Kaito out of the picture, there were only four Armored Riders left; herself, Jonouchi of Team Invitto, Mr. Oren from the bakery, and her brother. Gaim hadn't needed its Ryugen, because Jonouchi was too busy learning how to bake and Oren was too busy trumpeting his win over the Beat Riders. And she hadn't used her Driver ever since finding out from Kouta that they were test subjects.

Now that everything was more or less back to normal, she had to make Kouta happy again, help him cope. She had the sense that her brother had tried to do just that; it was ironic, how he seemed to care more for her teammate than he did for her.

For the moment, though, she was happy that she was in her hoodie instead of her school uniform. She could pretend she wasn't one of the Kureshimas of Zawame city.

A van pulled up on the street, and Kurokage Troopers spilled out. The Troopers meant that there was a Crack nearby, no doubt, and that was the last thing she wanted to deal with. She started hurrying, hoping to get far away from where they were going.

Instead, they were heading towards her, and as she changed direction she realized that they weren't there for a Crack; they were there for *her*. It was her turn to be captured, just like Kouta and Kaito had before.

She had a few advantages at least, she thought as she started to run. She wasn't wearing armor, she was smaller, and she was faster. Even if she intended to be captured, she wouldn't do it without a fight.

Michi wasn't sure that she wanted to be captured, so she kept running, slipping into alleys and around obstacles too big for her would-be captors to avoid.

Finally, she lost them, shaking as she finally stopped. She had to think. She had to plan. She had to know more. She needed time.

She headed to Gaim. Even if her course was utterly predictable, she'd let Kouta protect her and maybe she'd figure out how to handle this.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kouta's little Helheim garden can be dangerous. Kappa universe, small spoiler for 45.

Kouta has gotten used to a diet of Helheim fruit and nothing else. He's even gotten used to gardening - though it's less gardening and more convincing a bunch of alien plants not to grow outside and not to grow any fruit. It's bad enough that every so often he opens up the door and has to prevent tiny Elementary Inves from escaping and causing a panic.

Someday, he knows, he'll have to move before someone realizes he's not aging. And the garden will have to move with him. This will be a while; he's working with Takatora as they try to get Mitsuzane a little closer to sanity. Kouta thinks that they might be on the way to convincing him that Takatora is Takatora and not Kouta.

He'd let his sister near the garden - she knows it exists, he had to tell her that there's enough Helheim flora there that he won't starve to death - but it's far too dangerous to humans. There's always the possibility that a human will find it and its fruit, and then everything will spiral out of control.

There's a commotion in the shed, and Kouta internally winces. Is he going to find a full-sized Inves in there? Is he going to have to kill another human that was in the wrong place at the wrong time?

He opens the door, and the vines are waving. There's a shape in there, a dark shape, and he realizes after a moment that Mitsuzane found his way in and now he's almost completely wrapped in vines. The vines aren't harming his old friend, but Mitsuzane is struggling. "Teleport," he says, hoping that Mitsuzane is coherent enough to go back to the dock. It isn't Kouta's top choice, but the plant can be overwhelming if one isn't used to it. He himself has to mentally force vines away from his body if he's been gone for too long; he thinks, sometimes, that the plant considers him part of it.

Mitsuzane teleports out, and Kouta takes a deep breath. He looks among the slender vines for a fruit and sees one, probably generated when Mitsuzane came in. He fishes out a bag and seals it, knowing that Mitsuzane must have been hungry enough to find his way there.

Maybe Mitsuzane will eat without being prompted or commanded this time. Kouta always hopes that he will. But that's in the future, and this is now. He must make do with what he has.


	18. Takatora watches a sleeping Kappa-like Mitsuzane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was meant to be fluffy, I swear.

It felt odd, tucking Mitsuzane in when he was a fish monster. And yet, that was the only thing that Takatora could do now. Mitsuzane looked peaceful, though it was rather hard to tell; his fish-form didn't really allow him to have expressions like Takatora was used to seeing.

At least Mitsuzane wasn't crying as much as he used to, which was a good sign. Takatora settled down on a chair, watching his brother sleep. It was strange, in a way, to see his brother have scales, a fishlike face, and a bowl-shaped depression in his head, but at least Mitsuzane had retained a human form. He couldn't help but wish that he'd done a better job realizing that Mitsuzane needed affection much more than he had growing up, and how much Mitsuzane looked up to him, craving approval.

It would take his brother a long time to get better, possibly longer than Takatora would live. Still, even if Takatora grew old and died, there were still others that would be there for his brother. Kouta was pushing his sister at Takatora a little, and Takatora felt faintly amused about that.

No, he had to get better at taking care of his brother, and he'd like to believe that he was actually starting to be able to do that. If he was going to raise a family, he needed to avoid screwing up like he had with Mitsuzane. Kouta had told him that he was getting better, and basically that he had his life ahead of him and to stop agnoizing over things.

But if Mitsuzane was guilty of many crimes, Takatora had facilitated all of them. While Kouta had done some bad things, Takatora doubted he understood how much the Kureshimas were responsible for so much more. It was in some ways, sadly amusing to realize that as Kouta had become less impetuous, he had become far too forgiving.

Still, maybe it was time to listen to Kouta. Time for both of them to listen to Kouta. It was the least he could do.


	19. Mitsuzane has a nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is another Kappa universe fic, taking place after the previous chapter. No older brothers were harmed in the making of this fic.

"Micchy." He must be dreaming, he realized, because they were at one of the Public Stages and he was in human form in his old Gaim hoodie. Mai was standing before him in the dress she often wore as a spirit. Her arm was up, and her hand out to him, as if wanting him to go with her. But she wasn't human anymore, and it was all his fault.

She often appeared to him when he felt his most guilty, just as his brother had before. It almost made him not want to sleep, but he figured he deserved everything that Mai had to say.

There were two thrones behind her, he realized. Stone thrones, like what he'd seen in Helheim. They were on the stage, looking out of place in the environment.

"Mitsuzane," she tried again.

"Mai," he replied dully.

"Let's sit down," she said, and he figured she was going to start yelling at him. Suddenly, he was sitting on one throne, and she on the other. He looked at the plaza, and suddenly the plaza was surrounded by Helheim forest.

Kouta was kneeling before them, a cart of Helheim fruit behind him. "I've come with the harvest, my lord and lady," he said.

"Thank you, Kouta," Mai said with a smile. It was the smile she had before he'd caused her to lose it. He could finally see that he was at fault for the loss of her smile. Kouta wasn't at fault at all.

"I'm not your king or your lord!" Mitzuzane screamed, standing up. "I don't deserve this!" Suddenly, one of the doors in the plaza slammed, and he was held tight. He struggled against his unseen bonds, which suddenly went away with a thud.

"Micchy!" Mai was back, strolling towards him. She looked unhappy. "Don't!"

"I don't deserve this!" Mitsuzane screamed once more. Kouta tried to catch him, but he couldn't, and Mitsuzane ran past him, into the Forest. It was what he deserved, all he deserved.

The dream world faded, replaced by the darkness of his room. Crying, he teleported out back to the docks, where he was safe. Where he was free to suffer.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the fic I wrote that eventually spawned "How Much Daylight".

Kouta stopped being a Kureshima a long time ago, when he turned eighteen.

He wasn't as bright as his older brother Takatora or his younger brother Mitsuzane, but he was good at figuring things out. He knew something was happening at Yggdrasill that Takatora was going along with no matter how terrible it was. And Kouta had the sense that it was truly terrible.

Kouta couldn't be part of that, so one day he'd left his family behind, taking just a few clothes with him. A Yggdrasill office lady had been kind enough to sort of adopt him, taking him in, and he worked construction jobs to help keep them both fed.

Sometimes he saw Mitsuzane dancing with one of the Beat Rider teams. He was sure Takatora didn't know about that, because he couldn't see Takatora ever approving. He'd left before he could be forced to go to college - not that he didn't want to go to college, but because he didn't want to go to college just to study what his family wanted him to study.

He felt bad about leaving Mitsuzane alone with Takatora. Not that Takatora would mistreat Mitsuzane, but Kouta had been the one that had always been closer to their younger brother. Maybe he'd come up to Mitsuzane and ask forgiveness for leaving him alone. And then maybe Mitsuzane could spend some time around Kouta and get the approval that he craved.

Takatora wouldn't be too happy, but Kouta didn't care. He wasn't a Kureshima in anything but name anymore, and someday he would get married and that would be gone as well.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another bit of fic that spawned "How Much Daylight".

"Come on, it should be safe." Mitsuzane pleaded. "It'll just be for a little while, and Takatora is at work."

Kouta sighed. He did want to come home sometimes, even if he couldn't. He'd left because of what Yggdrasill was up to, and it felt like going into the Kureshima Estate was surrendering to his destiny. Still, Mitsuzane needed him, and while Takatora was brilliant, he wasn't very good with their younger brother.

He knew that his leaving home probably hadn't accomplished much, because he wasn't as bright as Takatora or Mitsuzane, and did Yggdrasill need the middle son of the Kureshima family to do anything than hold a steady job and be there in case something happened to Takatora?

Kouta could only make sure that Mitsuzane had a place to go when he, too, hit eighteen and could leave home. He wouldn't quite be an adult, but he'd be old enough that he could live on his own. And by then, Akira and Kouta would have figured out how to get Kouta his own place that he could share with Mitsuzane.

"Okay," he said, and Mitsuzane gave him a wonderful, quiet smile. He might regret it, but what was the harm right now? It would make Mitsuzane happy.

So, he went with Mitsuzane to the Estate and followed him up the stairs. The door to his room was closed, and he was tempted to go in to see if the family had done anything to his room. But he resisted; this wasn't his home anymore and he had no right to go peeking in other peoples' houses.

"He hasn't changed anything," Mitsuzane said quietly. "Takatora, I mean."

Somehow, this didn't surprise Kouta. Takatora did love him and Misuzane, he was just incredibly crap at showing it. Takatora probably kept his room intact in case Kouta came to his senses and returned home.

But Kouta wasn't ever going back. Maybe he shouldn't be at this place at all. And yet, Mitsuzane needed him and it wasn't like Takatora was going to come home anytime soon, was he?

So he stayed. If worst came to worst, he knew, he could sneak off. He knew the place, after all. He could leave even if Takatora eventually came home and Takatora would never know that he was there.

It was worth it, to be there for Mitsuzane.


End file.
